The NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS: A Closer Look
by Josh Venning on September 19, 2006 5:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
XFX
Finally, we also have a 7900 GS from XFX, the XFX GeForce 7900 GS RoHS Extreme.
This is the same XFX 7900 GS we looked at in the 7900 GS launch article, but we'll be delving a little deeper for this review.
This 7900 GS has a sleek black look that is a little different than the colorful light-colored XFX cards we've seen in the past. The design is the same as the reference card, aside from the noticeable bar along the top with the XFX logo on it. We aren't sure why they designed the card this way, but it gives the card a unique look that sets it apart from our other 7900 GS cards. The XFX 7900 GS RoHS Extreme comes with a somewhat modest factory overclock (in spite of the "Extreme" label) of 480MHz on the core and 700MHz on the memory.
There are also no games included in the bundle for this card and it lists for about $211 right now, which is slightly higher than the factory overclocked BFG 7900 GS. Out of the box, the BFG looks to be a better deal, but as we will see in the overclocking section, this card could come out ahead with user overclocking.
Finally, we also have a 7900 GS from XFX, the XFX GeForce 7900 GS RoHS Extreme.
This is the same XFX 7900 GS we looked at in the 7900 GS launch article, but we'll be delving a little deeper for this review.
This 7900 GS has a sleek black look that is a little different than the colorful light-colored XFX cards we've seen in the past. The design is the same as the reference card, aside from the noticeable bar along the top with the XFX logo on it. We aren't sure why they designed the card this way, but it gives the card a unique look that sets it apart from our other 7900 GS cards. The XFX 7900 GS RoHS Extreme comes with a somewhat modest factory overclock (in spite of the "Extreme" label) of 480MHz on the core and 700MHz on the memory.
There are also no games included in the bundle for this card and it lists for about $211 right now, which is slightly higher than the factory overclocked BFG 7900 GS. Out of the box, the BFG looks to be a better deal, but as we will see in the overclocking section, this card could come out ahead with user overclocking.
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Josh Venning - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
Thanks for the comment. We didn't include FSAA tests in this article because it isn't a full analysis of 7900 GS performance, but a comparison between different 7900 GS products. For an in-depth look at the 7900 GS performance in more games and settings take a look at the 7900 GS launch coverage(http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2827...">http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2827..., and the 7950 GT article which has some 7900 GS SLI numbers (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2833...">http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2833....As far as driver settings, we test with default driver settings with the exception of vsync which is disabled. We do the same with ATI hardware; we leave catalyst AI on its default setting. We find this is the best way to keep our tests consistent for an article like this.
giantpandaman2 - Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - link
I wonder if part of the difference in heat/power consumption had to do with how much power was supplied to the fans. Slow running fan=low power=high heat. Faster fan=higher power=low heat.Meh, I'm not sure a tiny fan could ever put a dent in a 20 watt difference though.